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Google parent Alphabet is among the first of the ” Magnificent Seven ” companies to report second-quarter earnings, with results due after the stock market closes on Wednesday. Shares of Alphabet have barely budged this year, lagging the other Magnificent 7 stocks and the S & P 500 . Investor concern is focused on the shifting search and advertising landscape, given the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots that risk Google’s competitive edge. Still, analysts are generally bullish on Google’s search and ad monetization for the second quarter. Wall Street is expecting the YouTube owner to post double-digit earnings and revenue growth, according to LSEG. Analysts expect Alphabet to report earnings of $2.18 per share, up 15.5% year over year, on revenue of $93.94 billion, up 10.9%. Investors may be worrying unnecessarily, however, based on history. Alphabet earnings have beaten expectations for nine straight quarters, according to Bespoke Investment Group, and the stock tends to rise an average of 1.3% in the first session after results are announced. Here’s what Wall Street is expecting from Alphabet results: Goldman Sachs: buy rating and $225 price target Analyst Eric Sheridan called out investor uncertainty toward Google’s search business given the rise of consumer AI apps, and a lack of clarity around the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google. Still, he remains bullish on the company’s transformation toward being an “answer engine” rather than just a search engine. “We continue to highlight GOOGL as one of the most compelling risk/reward skews (based on our upside/downside work) from current levels,” Sheridan wrote in a July 10 note. “We continue to view GOOGL’s ability to distribute AI solutions (Gemini being at the center) across an array of existing desktop/mobile computing applications (Gmail, Search, Chrome, Drive, Maps, YouTube, Photos) as underappreciated.” BMO Capital Markets: outperform, price target raised $8 to $208 Analyst Brian Pitz reintroduced Alphabet as a “top pick,” highlighting that its shares are selling for 18 times the company’s expected earnings over the next 12 months, below an average multiple of 22 times over the past five years. Pitz said a growing AI user base for Google’s search business will lead to higher returns on advertising. “As AI monetization continues to evolve, we believe Google will increasingly leverage its over twenty years of AI initiatives to continue expanding [return on ad spend] for its advertisers,” he said, highlighting that YouTube is also integrating “AI Overviews” in its search results, which could increase engagement. Bank of America: buy, price target up $10 to $210 Analyst Justin Post raised his estimates and expects strong results. “2Q positives could include: 1) Commentary suggesting ad spend has accelerated since April, 2) Strong search results suggesting AI integration aiding monetization (lowering revenue reset risk), 3) YouTube beat on easy y/y comps, and 4) Cloud strength from added capacity & Workspace AI integration,” Post said in a July 18 note. JPMorgan: overweight, $200 price target Analyst Doug Anmuth said Google “continues to move fast in AI” and rates the stock overweight. His price target implies about 5% potential upside from Monday’s close. “Positive into the print as our GOOGL checks were positive around Search, YouTube & Cloud while Google’s AI innovations continue to impress,” Anmuth wrote in a note to clients. “AI & Cloud investments, esp. depreciation (JPMe +46% Y/Y to $5.4B), will weigh on margins (JPMe GAAP OIM -140bps Y/Y to 31%), but continued durable re-engineering of cost base needs to provide offset.” Deutsche Bank: buy, $200 price target Analyst Benjamin Black believes Alphabet shares have room to appreciate at the same time as he acknowledged the lackluster performance against online advertising peers and the stock lagging the market since first-quarter results were released. “Sentiment continues to weigh negatively on Google on concerns around share loss at Search long term, as statcounter estimates 14bps of share loss globally since the end of March,” Black wrote in a July 14 note to clients. “That said, our ad checks indicate that near-term revenue trends accelerated in the 2Q … and we slightly increase our 2Q Search estimate to account for favorable FX tailwinds to 9% y/y (7% FXN), slightly above the street.” UBS: neutral, price target raised $6 to $192 UBS lifted its price target to $192, still suggesting limited upside from where Alphabet closed Monday. The bank increased its 2025 and 2026 revenue forecast, partly due to an improvement in the advertising environment. “We remain Neutral weighted given mid-term uncertainty from regulatory outcomes (Search case remedy due August), limited resolution on impact from AI Overviews integration with more signs emerging that click through rates are down, and ongoing pressure from GenAI Search competitors with ChatGPT still gaining usage share,” analyst Stephen Ju wrote in a July 16 note.
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